Element of Politeness in Intercultural Communication: The Case Study of Japanese and Malaysian Tourists

The number of Japanese tourists visiting Malaysia has consistently ranked in the top ten over the last 20 years. Japan has been the country of choice for Malaysian tourists over the previous ten years. It is, therefore, crucial that tourism communication in the cross-cultural context between Malaysia and Japan is used as a reference to improve the cross-cultural communication skills of the tourism employees involved. This article discusses the external structure of Japanese conversation between native Japanese speakers and Malaysian tourist guides and native Malay speakers with Japanese tourist guides. This study is qualitative and uses the discourse analysis approach. A total of four conversation sessions in the form of Free Independent Travel (FIT) tourism were held in Malacca and Tokyo. The conversations were recorded, and the researchers also made notes throughout the conversation to see the sentence structures and non-linguistic elements to complete the data. The recording was then transcribed and encoded before being analysed. Only the conversations by tourist guides were analysed and included in the contents of this article as the focus of the study is more on the external form and politeness of the Japanese language used by Malaysian and Japanese tourist guides in demonstrating solidarity and similarities in the context of cross-cultural conversation. Data analysis shows many similarities in the selection of vocabulary and specific verb forms by Japanese and Malaysian tourist guides to show courtesy and friendliness in the conversation. This proves that Japanese language skills by Malaysian tourist guides are almost on par with Japanese tourist guides. Malaysian tourist guides also have a vast knowledge of the culture and nature of the Japanese language.

André Brink, Dissenter

<p>This thesis provides a survey of the novels written in English by Afrikaans author, André Brink. It contextualises these texts in terms of the political and social issues of the era in which each was written. Specifically, it examines the ways in which the novels stand as a dissenting body of work against a particularly prescriptive and preclusive environment, challenging the racially prejudiced practices of apartheid South Africa and, later, challenging other forms of oppression in the post-apartheid nation. One of the most interesting aspects of Brink's work, I argue, is that his challenge comes from within the Afrikaner community. Discussion of the novels is concerned not merely with the literary treatment of a range of themes, but also with the worldly implications of this treatment, the ways in which Brink considers his questions about, and challenges to, authoritarianism. I argue that the oeuvre demonstrates Brink's developing social and political conscience, a series of 'rebirths' in which the artist is prompted to reconsider his role as an artist. I examine Brink's works from a number of perspectives and in relation to a number of central themes. My approach in looking at the oeuvre from different angles is highly suggestive of the problem as it plays out for Brink: he is unable to straightforwardly resolve the themes he treats, but refuses to concede defeat or retreat from the central issues. This, I suggest, is one of the most significant aspects of Brink's work - his willingness to continually reassess his environment and his response to it. He returns to favourite themes and considers the same issues from new perspectives and with new knowledge. The irresolution which defines his treatment allows the possibility for future investigation, a further dialectic interrogation of the issues in a new context. The works also trace the author's 'cultural conversation', a dialogue which both records and challenges the prescriptive and preclusive environment of apartheid South Africa. I extend this examination to include the post-apartheid novels, discussing the situation of the dissenting artist for whom the most obvious forms of authoritarianism have become defunct. Essentially, the thesis investigates the politics of writing as dissident politics and considers whether Brink's dissident project is a success and, indeed, whether dissent itself is viable.</p>

André Brink, Dissenter

<p>This thesis provides a survey of the novels written in English by Afrikaans author, André Brink. It contextualises these texts in terms of the political and social issues of the era in which each was written. Specifically, it examines the ways in which the novels stand as a dissenting body of work against a particularly prescriptive and preclusive environment, challenging the racially prejudiced practices of apartheid South Africa and, later, challenging other forms of oppression in the post-apartheid nation. One of the most interesting aspects of Brink's work, I argue, is that his challenge comes from within the Afrikaner community. Discussion of the novels is concerned not merely with the literary treatment of a range of themes, but also with the worldly implications of this treatment, the ways in which Brink considers his questions about, and challenges to, authoritarianism. I argue that the oeuvre demonstrates Brink's developing social and political conscience, a series of 'rebirths' in which the artist is prompted to reconsider his role as an artist. I examine Brink's works from a number of perspectives and in relation to a number of central themes. My approach in looking at the oeuvre from different angles is highly suggestive of the problem as it plays out for Brink: he is unable to straightforwardly resolve the themes he treats, but refuses to concede defeat or retreat from the central issues. This, I suggest, is one of the most significant aspects of Brink's work - his willingness to continually reassess his environment and his response to it. He returns to favourite themes and considers the same issues from new perspectives and with new knowledge. The irresolution which defines his treatment allows the possibility for future investigation, a further dialectic interrogation of the issues in a new context. The works also trace the author's 'cultural conversation', a dialogue which both records and challenges the prescriptive and preclusive environment of apartheid South Africa. I extend this examination to include the post-apartheid novels, discussing the situation of the dissenting artist for whom the most obvious forms of authoritarianism have become defunct. Essentially, the thesis investigates the politics of writing as dissident politics and considers whether Brink's dissident project is a success and, indeed, whether dissent itself is viable.</p>

Sustainable Landscapes in the Traditional Korean Residential Environment: Focus on the Joseon Dynasty

This study examines the sustainable landscapes displayed in traditional Korean houses of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) by investigating urban agricultural practices implemented in the palace, private houses, and an imaginary garden (Uiwon). Currently popular productive gardening applications, such as urban agriculture, productive landscapes, and edible landscapes, also formed the backbone of the traditional Korean housing environment in the Joseon Dynasty, which has had substantial implications for today’s landscaping practices. Landscapes that are productive rather than decorative are important for environmentally sound and sustainable development not only for South Korea but also for modern housing design worldwide. This research provides concrete discussions of the definition and range of urban agriculture, agricultural methods, and principal agents of gardening-related businesses. This information advances the cultural conversation as well as the understanding and application of gardening in the modern context. Through a comparison of traditional and modern South Korean housing environments, this study contributes to developing the research on the role of gardens in sustainable landscapes.

The Lives of Objects beyond Ownership

Provenance history sheds light on the relationship between works of art and the social, political, and economic conditions of their biographies. Engaging with the provenance of objects establishes a cultural conversation across time and space with previous owners. For artworks in museums, the public has now entered into that conversation. Museums, as custodians of art and educators of the public, can play a significant role in going beyond the question of ownership to get to the heart of what provenance reveals about the meanings of art: the ways people bring art into their lives, and the ways that objects are loved and studied. This essay delves into these human aspects of provenance, which are too often absent from museum displays, and argues in favor of making this information more visible to the public. Finally, works by contemporary artists Hans Haacke and Maria Eichhorn are discussed as examples of projects that successfully expose complicated object histories and provenance within museum installations.

»A Dream of a Dream«

Artikelbeginn:[English title and abstract below] In Franz Hohlers Tschipo (1978), dem ersten Teil einer Trilogie, erlebt ein Schweizer Junge Abenteuer auf seltsamen Inseln. Und in Maggie Stiefvaters Serien The Raven Cycle (2012 – 2016) und The Dreamer Trilogy (2019 – ) bekämpft ein amerikanischer junger Erwachsener mit Namen Ronan Lynch magische Gefahren. Was haben Tschipo und Ronan gemeinsam? Eine seltsame Gabe: Von ihren Träumen bleibt am Morgen etwas zurück. »A Dream of a Dream«Dreaming as a Metafictional Device in Children’s and Young Adult Literature This article analyses the relationship between dreaming, art and identity in Franz Hohler’s Tschipo (1978) and Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle (2012 – 2016) and The Dreamer Trilogy (2019 – ). At the centres of their fictional universes lies the fantastic ability of specific characters to take things out of their dreams; an ability which is both a plot element and a narrative principle. In Tschipo, dreaming is used in analogy to storytelling, with the storyteller inventing worlds that are so vibrant that the audience is unable to discern what is ›real‹ and what is ›just‹ invented or dreamed. In Stiefvater’s books, the character of the dreamer is revealed to be a kind of artist who thrives on the thrill of creation and transgression. In all the texts, the concept of taking things out of dreams is transgressive on two levels: Formally, it is used to subvert traditional storytelling and to question the role of the narrator. In terms of plot, it is employed in order to articulate nonnormative identities, lifestyles and desires. By using dreaming as a central narrative device, Tschipo, The Raven Cycle and The Dreamer Trilogy are therefore highly metafictional, revealing that literature addressed to younger audiences participates in a cultural conversation about fact and fiction, and draws on narrative strategies similar to those employed in literature addressed to adults.

The author's arsenal: loosening standards for protectability and substantial similarity in video game copyright

This article examines and critiques the American copyright regime's increasingly protective approach to video games and their subject matter. Over the past decade, a trio of district court decisions have bolstered protection for video games by relaxing standards for protectability and substantial similarity. Subsequent rulings, concerning both games and other forms of intellectual property, suggest this protective streak will continue. While heightened protection might provide a necessary deterrent to ‘cloning’ and other kinds of impermissible copying, it will also endanger valuable forms of appropriation. After decades of limited copyright involvement, mimesis has become an important element of game creation – widely tolerated by the gaming community as a source of inspiration, interoperability, and cultural conversation. A more expansive view of protectability may inhibit imitative behavior that has, in the past, benefited new creators and fans without harming the economic expectations of prior authors. Moreover, that new approach, which relies heavily on juries for unpredictable, case-by-case determinations, may restrict the financial and creative outlook of the video game industry at large. In its first section, this article identifies the elements of video games that have been deemed protectable under copyright law. The second section summarizes foundational video game case law, in which courts established restrictive standards for protectability and substantial similarity. The third then discusses the paradigm shift towards more expansive protectability, recounting cases where courts found games worthy of heightened protection. In its fourth section, this article argues that the protective trend has yet to peak, looking to evidence gleaned from recent copyright suits. A concluding section outlines the risks of overprotection, cautioning against a potentially unreasoned and impractical copyright standard.

Literary and Review Journalism

Cultural commentary has always been an important part of a newspaper’s offering to its readers. Book, theatre and film reviews provide an essential reader service, and form part of a nation’s cultural conversation about itself and its values. Arts criticism in the mainstream press has until recently been dominated by a privileged, often Oxbridge-educated and male elite of ‘amateur’ journalists from the arts world, many having been novelists themselves. More recently, arts pages are more likely to be edited by professional journalists. Newspaper books pages contain fewer reviews of ‘difficult’ or academic books than they did in the mid-twentieth century; instead contain more reviews of celebrity memoir and ‘pop’ histories. This is partly because the number of books reviewed in mainstream newspapers and arts journals has decreased significantly since the mid-1980s; reviews having been replaced with features such as books ‘hit parades’ and interviews with celebrity novelists and directors.

“A wife or friend at e’ery Port”

The “sailor ballads” of the early British Empire employ popular song not only to investigate sailors’ hardships and victories, but to explore the character attributes of seafaring men. This article argues that the range of attitudes and concerns present in these texts signals a larger cultural conversation about these men’s fitness as husbands to the nation’s women, fathers to its children, and members of its communities. Although protoimperialist and mercantilist writers such as John Dee, Robert Hitchcock, and Edward Misselden stressed the social benefits of employing common men in large-scale seafaring projects, the ballads explore the consequences of the common sailor’s presence—and most particularly, his prolonged absence—on the traditional stabilizing structures of family and community. In doing so, the ballads critically examine the potential rewards and consequences of imperial expansion from a terrestrial, local, and communal perspective.